U.P. officials blame police for Saharanpur violence

‘SSP did not act to stop mob attack on Dalit settlement’

Even as Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur continues to be tense, Uttar Pradesh Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra admitted for the first time that the Saharanpur violence was the result of a lack of policing. “Somewhere it has been felt that there was something lacking in the basic policing which led to violence. Delayed action and the feeling that it was one-sided action, worsened the matter,” Mr. Mishra told The Hindu on Friday. He, however, said the situation would greatly improve in a day.

Mr. Mishra is leading the team of top officials sent to Saharanpur by the State government on Tuesday night to control the violence.

Fresh bout of clashes

The situation is tense, but under control in all the violence-torn villages of Saharanpur. Shabbirpur, which witnessed a fresh bout of violence on May 23, has not seen any more violent clashes between the Thakurs and Dalits since the Mishra-led team was sent to the district.

While Mr. Mishra was subdued in his assessment of the situation, another member of the team was extremely critical of what he termed “complete failure of the district administration and police in taking action when culprits took the law into their own hands.”

A member of the team which has been camping in the district told

The Hindu on condition of anonymity that the then Senior Superintendent of Police S.C. Dubey did not act against the rioters in Shabbirpur.

A violent mob of Thakurs attacked the Dalit settlement in the village and torched over 54 houses on May 5 after the Dalits objected to the loud music during a procession taken out by the Thakurs to commemorate Maharana Pratap.

“The situation would not have gone out of hand had the SSP who was on the spot ordered action against the mob. There were three companies of police and para-military forces present. What stopped the SSP,” wondered the senior police official.